February 13, 2010
When I lived in Chicago, I had a little studio apartment that I painted five different colors (orange, lime, yellow, periwinkle, and dark green), and I was very into contemporary, trendy furniture. I intensely loved my two-tone wood table that I bought at a funky store that used to be in Water Tower Place. Unfortunately, even though the size is great for my entry area, the table looks out of place with my more traditional and cozy furniture.
I’ve been thinking about replacing the table, but I decided to see how it would look covered. I used a tablecloth handed down from someone to cover the table, and instantly, it looks appropriate in the living room – a little more grown up. And it cost me $0!
Listed in Decorating + DIY Tagged quick fix | Leave a comment!
February 8, 2010
My home office is, unfortunately but necessarily, a dumping ground for items that don’t fit the rest of the house. Right now, it’s holding five computers (three functional), two broken printers, the filing cabinet, a spare side table, an old toy chest (turned coffee table with a marble top), and my American Girl doll Kirsten, which my dad brought me when he came to visit last year. Just what I needed to store. Thanks, Dad. :-P
So I’ve tried to make my corner of the office feel more glam. Last fall, I made two plant silhouette paintings that hang above my desk. They were an improvement. But I wanted more of a focal point, so I re-painted an old floating shelf using leftover paint from my kitchen makeover, and hunt it just below the paintings, so any items that sit on the shelf overlap slightly with the bottom of the paintings. I used little knick-knacks to fill the shelf, and suddenly items that had been in my throw-away pile have a home!
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February 6, 2010
Because of a snowstorm that wouldn’t stop, I was stuck inside today with nothing to do. So I decided to use items I had around the house to transform an old pillow that’s been taking up room on a closet shelf.
I’ve had this horse pillow for years. My sister gave it to me when we were younger, and I’ve never had the heart to throw it out, even when the design started to crack with age. I stuck it high up in a closet where it would occasionally fall on my head when I opened the doors.
After!
Using iron-on patches, I created the design of two owls sitting on a branch, which I ironed onto a linen-look napkin (cotton/poly blend).
Instead of a traditional two-piece pillow cover with a slit up the back to fit the insert, I turned the insert on an angle and folded the four corners of the napkin together at the back. Pinning them in place, I hand stitched the two bottom seams to where they met in the center, then folded the top flap over like an envelope and fastened it with a string wound around a spare coat button.
Materials: old pillow, cotton napkin (ironed), spare button, iron-on patches cut into desired shapes, needle & thread
Voila! Happy little owls for $0.
Listed in Decorating + DIY Tagged DIY, owls, pillow | Comments (2)
